Free community college in Mass.: too good to pass up

On October 2, 2024, with the support of the Healey-Driscoll administration, MassEducate began providing free community college to Massachusetts residents of any age and income without a bachelor’s degree, covering full tuition costs and up to $1,200 each semester for other supplies, like books.

Previous to this program, community college was free through Mass Reconnect for students 25 years and older. MassEducate essentially made free community college accessible for the first time ever to students finishing high school in Massachusetts.

The main goal of MassEducate is to bring even more important roles to the workforce, like healthcare workers or engineers, and to help students learn their trade without the monstrous financial pressure that comes with attending a college.

Once eligible students complete the FAFSA, they will receive a tuition and fee waiver, as long as they take a minimum of 6 credit hours a semester. MassEducate is newly possible because of the Fair Share Amendment, which imposed a four percent tax on any income someone makes over one million dollars a year. This gave Massachusetts enough funding to launch the program.

Jill Buchanan, the Director of Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations at Greenfield Community College, is thrilled with the program. “Free Community College primarily fills remaining gaps in tuition and fees and extends support to students who fall just outside traditional aid thresholds,” she said.

Buchanan views this as an extra opportunity for funding students’ education and said it is a big help for students who don’t qualify for things like the Pell Grant or MASSGrant Plus. “It is a game changer for people who have felt college was out of reach to know that they will receive the support they need to achieve their goals,” she said.

ARHS grad (‘24) Harriet Barber-Just is a student currently attending Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) for free, thanks to MassEducate. Her story is interesting because she left Tufts University after one semester and now attends the only technical community college in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one that offers a wealth of degree programs in manufacturing, healthcare, STEM, and more.

When talking about why she left Tufts, she said that a highly competitive four-year school was not actually where she should have gone, but at the time she applied and set off for school, Mass Educate had not yet been enacted, and she was not aware it was an option for her. Barber-Just was initially chasing a traditional four-year mechanical engineering degree.

“I thought going to the best school that would let me in and continuing to do everything perfectly was the right thing to do, because everyone else was doing it,” she said, but noted that instead, she “crashed and burned” and ended up leaving school in her first semester, eventually realizing that “an expensive, academically rigorous college experience isn’t what some people need to flourish in life,” said Barber-Just.

Initially, she thought she would have to abandon that dream of being an engineer. But “the negative impact of not being able to get my tuition refunded after I dropped out was lessened by the opportunity MassEducate gave me,” she said.

Before enrolling in community college this fall, she lived at home, got a job, and saved money to buy a car so she could commute to school independently. 

Now she views community college as the best option for her rather than the second-best. “You can get just as far in a college that costs half as much, with the same amount of effort,” she said, noting that MassEducate provided a financially safe reentry into a college and a lower-pressure environment she appreciates.

She also liked having the flexibility to change her pathway in the program without feeling like mistakes or changes were costing her money. For example, Barber-Just committed to a Laser Optics associate’s degree earlier this fall, but halfway through the first semester, she switched to an Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) degree, when she realized that “the role of a manufacturing technician was much more authentic to the dream job I envisioned than any well-paying ‘engineer’ job could be.”  

“Without MassEducate, the [pivot from] Laser Optics [to AMT] could have meant another wasted semester, or at the very least a change in my financial aid package,” said Barber-Just. Ultimately, MassEducate allowed her to explore her interests freely, without any financial burden.

Not only is she excited about the Advanced Manufacturing Technology program she is in, but she noted that “I’ve also had more time on the side for developing my hobbies and skills, many of which I couldn’t imagine having time for under the pressures of a four-year college.”

While Barber-Just lives 45 minutes from STCC by car, she said the drive is worth it for “the specific benefit of attending STCC, in comparison to other community colleges in Massachusetts,” citing its “hands-on approach to learning in the Advanced Manufacturing Program.”

“The machines you learn how to use in school are of the same caliber as the ones you’ll be using at work,” she said. “That applies to the technology used for every program’s equipment, across the board.”

Barber-Just’s story is a great example of why MassEducate can be a worthwhile starting point for students, as it makes jobs that are not as accessible to the public more financially viable and brings more workers to in-demand jobs.

Students typically need to live at home or in an apartment or on neighboring campuses and have access to a car to attend, unless they live close to the campus. And while some community colleges have dining halls, others only offer to-go food rather than full-service meals.  

This is true for Barber-Just, but she emphasized the benefit of free college despite attendance often requiring a car. “My choice between trying again at a four-year institution and going to community college was really the choice between overpaying to retake [some of] the same classes I’d already done half of, or getting the experience of taking a gap year, owning a car, and finishing my associate’s,” she said.

MassEducate takes a large financial burden off the student, but they may still face issues with costs not covered by the program, like transportation or food. However, these costs do not come close to those at a four-year institution, and STCC has other benefits, including food assistance and free groceries for students who meet income criteria.

College and Career Counselor Lexie Mullins said she was happy to be able to encourage students to check out the free community colleges in Massachusetts.

“It’s still so new, but just allowing students to pursue a degree free of charge is really opening doors for students,” she said, not just as an alternative to a four-year program but also as an alternative to paid community college. 

“It’s not just for students who are [looking at an alternative to] a four-year school,” she said. “It [also] gives students who are unsure of what they want to do more time to think about it and grow into their skills.”

The ability to transfer to a four-year college for the last two years is also an attractive benefit of community college, according to Buchanan.

“Most [community college students] complete associate’s degrees, and we have transfer agreements with many four-year institutions,” she said, with higher rates of acceptance for students transferring in from community colleges.